In case you missed it, a few of us on the site got together to do a best of 2013 list. We thought we’d look back on the year and see all the greatest stuff DC’s put out. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s split up into four articles:
Part 1: Talent (Best Writer and Best Artist)
Part 2: Stories (Best Single Issue, Best Story Arc, Best Moment in Comics)
Part 3: Titles (Best New 52 Title, Best Vertigo Title, Best Digital Title)
Part 4: Multimedia (Best Movie, Best TV Series, Best Video Game, Best Moment in Multimedia)
But while many websites look back on the old year, we decided we want to look forward to the new one as well. Among all the movie rumors, cancelled series, upcoming TV shows, merchandise announcements, and more, we can always hope for something cool in the future. So with that in mind, here’s what many of our staff members want from DC Entertainment in 2014.
ALEXANDER CEROLA: What I loved most about DC Comics was the continuation of the heroes’ identity through legacy. DC Comics quickly erased the one thing that has kept me a fan since I was a size 6 in shoes (now 15 quadruple E). Originally, I was against everything about the New 52. The dialogue and design screamed 90’s so much I thought Superman was bringing flannel and “unkempt” back in a whole new way, but after awhile I was won over. It wasn’t their core titles that did the trick. It was the solo heroes that would eventually be cancelled. Earth 2, and Wonder Woman being excluded (long may they live). Amazing titles both of them; really you should have a read if you can. To bring this to my point, I wish for DC Comics to breath new life into lesser known characters and for them to last longer than a meager eight or ten issues. The Big Two (Marvel and DC) are going for broke with these revamps and it’s partially due to lack of creativity. Of course they’ve brought in some new talent which have worked scores of incredible stories and new takes on old characters but at the end of the day it’s still Batman.
ASH MAHTANI: Give me back Booster Gold, DC. And make him not suck.
CHASE MAGNETT: Reprint of Jack Kirby’s Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth – As a massive fan of Jack Kirby’s work and firm believer that “The King” is one of the most important artists of the 20th Century, I really enjoy DC’s reprints of his work, including The Fourth World, O.M.A.C., The Losers, and Challengers of the Unknown. However, the first collection of his Kamandi stories has been out-of-print for sometime now and is becoming increasingly difficult to find. I would love to see these issue reprinted in softcover format, so a new generation can leap forward into the future adventures Kamandi and discover The King of Comics.
DAMIAN FASCIANI: I would love to see a new comic book series that brings together the Dark Knight and Arrow in one synced story where they serve justice together. Epic!
DAN GEHEN: More of the Booch – Much has been made of DC editorial and their penchant for bleeding talent, but they’ve been able to let many creators walk away because of their stable of up-and-coming writers. One such writer is The Flash co-writer Brian Buccellato. Aside from his work on DC’s Scarlet Speedster, he has done an amazing job on Dynamite’s The Black Bat. His writing of Barry Allen and Hal Jordan’s first meeting was universally praised (The Flash Annual #2), and Forever Evil: Rogues Rebellion has been a fun departure from the gloom of the main event. If DC gave him a Rogues ongoing or a “Brave and the Bold” type series, it would undoubtedly be a fun and quality read month after month.
DAREN TAVERNAS: I want Abigail Arcane to be brought back into the world of the living. Swamp Thing needs Abby in his life in order to evolve and connect with his former human self. Swamp Thing needs Abby like Batman needs brooding.
JAMES NEESE: Fewer bad decisions made by DC execs. I don’t want another scare like what almost happened to Gail Simone.
JAY MATTSON: Stop with the Gimmicks – While I’ve enjoyed both “Zero Month” and “Villains Month” over the past two Septembers, it feels like DC is running out of ways to “shock and awe” it’s readers every year, and so they’ve taken to coming up with more and more gimmicks to get readers buying more comics. Take The New 52: Future’s End, a new weekly series that will start in May that delves into the FUTURE of the New 52, five years down the road. DCCN’s own Ash Mahtani wrote in one of his “Showcase Presents” pieces about the dangers of going into the future and how that cheapens the present. I wholeheartedly agree. Beyond Future’s End, DC will also publish Batman: Eternal, yet another weekly series designed to reel in even MORE money from the company’s Bat-shaped money machine. The New 52 is only two and a half years old, and yet DC is determined to go into the past, into the future, and further down the Batman rabbit hole instead of fleshing out the current continuity and having it make sense.
JOEY GARCES: My wish for 2014 would be to see Nightwing and Red Robin share a miniseries together. Tim Drake used to be my favorite Robin and it was such a pleasure to read about him pre-52. Unfortunately I think he is one of the characters — along with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle — that haven’t got a fair shake in this new continuity. Teen Titans is underwhelming and isn’t giving Tim Drake the chance to shine I wish he had. I think if he spent significant time with his mentor and role model, Dick Grayson, we could see their unique relationship and it would endear both of them to readers more and also give them a new side that I think hasn’t really been explored yet. They don’t have to share a big series together like Batman and Superman do, but I think a four part miniseries would be an awesome opportunity for these two key members of the Batman family to really embody the family aspect. Watching the two of them admit to each other that they each envied certain aspects of one another was really interesting to read about and it’s something I wish we have a chance to see redone for the new comics especially for readers who are unfamiliar with their relationship.
JOSEPH ULFSRED: All I want for 2014 is a DC comics free of Scott Lobdell. This isn’t about the recent controversy, this isn’t about his portrayal of Starfire in Red Hood and the Outlaws, this is simply about the quality of the current runs of Teen Titans and Superman. Lobdell continues to write content that ranges from nonsensical to mediocre, and it is painful to see such great properties in such incapable hands. It’s not even fair to Kenneth Rocafort or Tyler Kirkham, who are providing some great art. Please, DC, just drop him.
MAX DWECK: A Deadman Ongoing Solo Series – Look, DC, let’s get down to brass tacks. I know Deadman is great. You know Deadman is great. Oh, you pretend he isn’t, but we both know that you do. Not only is he being released in the first wave of the Scribblenauts figures next year, but he’s also getting a plushie based off of the DC Nation shorts about him, plus two trade paperbacks of classic Deadman stories, a three-issue story arc guest-starring him in Flash, and his continued involvement in Justice League Dark. He’s been used by some of the best guys in the business, including Mark Waid, Neal Adams, Scott Snyder, and Jeff Lemire. His five-issue story arc in DC Universe Presents was a masterpiece, and he’s a really cool character with a lot of potential. And you clearly see that potential. So do the right thing. Give Deadman his own comic.
ROB KITCHEN: The Blue and the Gold – DC seems content with launching team-up books with some of its more popular characters. While Superman and Batman are great as a team, why not bring the best bromance DC’s ever created with Ted Kord and Booster Gold? Sure we’ve seen Booster Gold and the Jamie Reyes in the New 52, but with Ted alluded to in Forever Evil, now’s the perfect time to reintroduce him into the fold. What better way to do it than in a team up with Booster Gold? Sure, Booster’s a little different in the New 52, but since he’s from the future, there’s an easy way to get him to be the Booster we all know and love. Even if it doesn’t happen like that, there’s more than enough of a reason to see these two back in action if Ted does come into the fold.
SALVATORE BELLOMO III: Finally give Cyborg a title of his own! He’s an awesome character that has had moments to shine but hasn’t yet been given a chance to shine on his own or mini-series.
ZEE: I’ve got pretty much everything I wanted for DC Comics 2014. Stephanie Brown is coming back with Batman: Eternal and I can’t contain my excitement with every interview released. Justice League Canada is also something i’ve been wanting for a long time. If there is something else to wish for it would be a Stephanie Brown action figure, because there is only one in existence (and it’s super expensive). Maybe a Spoiler ongoing if were lucky.
So, from all of us at DC Comics News, Happy New Year. What wishes do you have for DC this year? Let us know in the comments!
